Former Brazilian deputy Flordelis arrested for murder at home in Niterói

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Former federal deputy Flordelis dos Santos Souza was arrested at 6:40 PM on Friday, August 13, at her home in Niterói (Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro).

She is accused by the Rio de Janeiro State Prosecutor’s Office (MP-RJ) of being the principal planner of the murder of her husband, pastor Anderson do Carmo de Souza.

The arrest order was issued by Judge Nearis dos Santos Carvalho Arce, head of the 3rd Criminal Court of Niterói where the case is being heard.

Upon being arrested, the ex-deputy recorded a video which she posted on her social networks repeating that she is innocent.

“Hello, people, the day no one wanted has come. I’m going to jail for something I didn’t do, for something I didn’t commit. I don’t know what for, but I am going strong and with your support. Pray for me. Pray, pray. A prayer chain on the Internet. Seek God, okay? I love you,” Flordelis says in the video.

In August 2020, Flordelis and 10 other people were denounced for the murder of Pastor Anderson. At the time, Flordelis’ arrest was not ordered because she enjoyed parliamentary immunity.

Last Wednesday, the Chamber of Deputies revoked Flordelis’ mandate for breach of parliamentary decorum. The decision was published in the Chamber’s Gazette last Thursday, August 12, thereby officially removing Flordelis from office. After that, the MP-RJ ordered the ex-deputy’s detention.

Arrest order

The Rio de Janeiro State Prosecutor’s Office on Friday ordered the former federal deputy’s preventive detention. The investigation took over a year and those responsible for the inquiry found that the deputy “was the intellectual instigator and the main architect of the crime.”

After always denying to have been the principal of the crime, Flordelis is now a defendant in the case of triple murder, attempted murder, use of a forged document, and armed criminal association. She has been monitored by an electronic ankle bracelet since last year.

“With the loss of the parliamentary mandate, the defendant’s legal situation must be reviewed, to correct the disproportionality between the imposed precautionary measures and the facts alleged and the defendant’s attempts to interfere in the investigation and evade the enforcement of criminal law,” reads the arrest order sent to the 3rd Criminal Court of Niterói.